Share this article

The app is the brainchild of tourists
Justin Amey and Ollie Hepworth from Bournemouth, Dorset, whose lack of
language skills was exposed on an outing to a bar in Prague, Czech
Republic.

Pivo - named after the Czech word for beer - is available to download from the App Store for 69p.

Justin, a 29-year-old marketing
manager, said: 'Ollie and I went on a holiday to Prague recently and,
like many British tourists, headed for the nearest bar to get a beer as
soon as we arrived.'However, we realised quickly that we had no idea how to ask for a beer in Czech.

After learning the local language for 'please' and 'thank you', asking for a beer on holiday abroad ranks highly in the list of phrases to pick up, say the app's inventors

The new app tries to authentically channel local culture whlie teaching you the language

'Of course, you can just go to a bar and
point to a beer but it is nice to make an effort to speak the language
when you're in a foreign country.

'A quick check on Google didn't shed any light either but we thought there must be an app for that.

'We were really surprised to find there was nothing out there that would offer up a quick translation of the word 'beer'.

'After all, for many of us 'beer' is probably the most useful foreign word to know after 'hello'.

'It started off as just a bit of fun but it got to number two in the travel app downloads on the App Store.

'Ollie and I are planning a trip to Dublin for his 30th birthday so our app will come in useful!'